Ova and out there: A brief look at ‘alien egg’ fetishes

When I originally started researching material for this blog, it was going to be about ‘insertion fantasy fetishes’ which refer to the sexual desires or fantasies of having something inserted into a person via any means in the pelvic region (vaginally, anally), with the insertion object typically being something out of the ordinary such as specifically shaped foods, abnormal objects, or even whole people (and which borders with sexual parahilias such as macrophilia and microphilia that I examined in previous blogs). However, when I typed in the words to Google, one article jumped out at me, an article in the online magazine Vice entitled ‘The emerging fetish of laying alien eggs inside yourself’ by Toby McCasker.

I am no stranger to the literature on alien fetishes and in a previous blog I reviewed the scant literature on exophilia (individuals who derive sexual pleasure and arousal from extraterrestrial, robotic, supernatural, or otherwise non-human life forms). The overwhelming majority of exophiles never claim to have had sex with an alien but claim that they are sexually excited and aroused by the thought of doing so. However, the topic of this blog does not fall under exophilia but does comprise an activity that could said to be part of an ‘insertion fetish’.

After reading the rest of this blog you may come to the conclusion that it is a thinly disguised advert for Primal Hardwere (PH) but I can assure you that it isn’t. It just happens that the focus of this article (sexual arousal from the insertion of ‘alien eggs’ into the vagina or anus) uses a product that is only available (as far as I am aware) from PH. McCasker’s article started like a number of my own:

“Recently, while on the internet looking at weird sex things, I came upon the gushing testimony of a young woman who had just discovered Primal Hardwere’s patented Ovipositor; one of the most unusual and confronting sex toys I’ve ever heard of. The Ovipositor is basically a big dildo that lays goopy eggs molded from gelatin in the body cavity of your choice. Fans of the Ovipositor say that the sensation of mushy extraterrestrial ovum slopping back out of them is a real treat. The owner of Primal Hardwere is a man who insisted I refer to him only as LoneWolf. A Native American of indeterminate age, he apparently worked as a builder, fast food dude, fashion model, church organist, butcher, and pursued veterinary medicine at the University of New Hampshire”.

For those who are unaware, an ovipositor is an organ used by some animals for the laying of eggs and the most infamous ovipositor I can think of is the one belonging to the alien queen xenomorph in the film Alien: Resurrection. (In fact, the original title of this article was going to be ‘Ripley’s believe it or not’ given that the heroine of all the Alien films is Ellen Ripley, but I decided that too few people would appreciate the pun). McCasker asked the developer of the Ovipostor dildo to explain the product and the thinking behind it:

“The idea is to replicate the act of being impregnated with eggs. Usually from an alien or insect. If you’ve seen the Aliens movies, you’ll get the picture. Many people find this sort of thing very arousing. The toys are simply phallic-shaped hollow tubes that can be used to insert gelatin eggs into oneself. There is a funnel-shaped hole in the bottom to receive the eggs, which are inserted one by one, forcing them up the tube and out the top…Let’s face it, there are three things that will always sell: Food, death, and sex. I tried food service and decided after managing three restaurants and owning one that it was the same thing, day in and day out, and it didn’t look like that was going to change much. Death didn’t really interest me. I wanted something more fun. Something that breaks the monotony of people’s days and makes them spit out their coffee when you tell them what you do…I wanted to push the boundaries of people’s comfort levels, make them question their own erections and wet panties, and let them know their fantasies do not have to go unrealized”.

Obviously PH didn’t start making the ovipositor dildos on a whim but it all began after ‘LoneWolf’ had created some one-off customized commissions prior to setting up PH. Unsurprisingly, no other company was (and is) making such products and ‘LoneWolf’ saw a gap in the market (or created a new market depending upon your perspective). As he told McCasker:

“Ovipositors were requested several times, and when I posted YouTube videos demonstrating them, the response was impressive. Tons of people wanted them – and while this is not a fetish of my own, I saw potential for a unique product line…[In terms of who buys the ovipositor dildos] the real answer here is simply ‘people’. I truly can’t say that it’s strictly one group or mindset or any other kind of convenient stereotype that like these sorts of things. People get turned on by many things beyond what our respective societies would deem ‘normal’ We are niche in the sense that we’re catering to some of the lesser catered-to fetishes. We send our products all over the world to many different races, creeds, and cultures…[In terms of appeal] there are different perspectives of everything, and Ovipositors are no exception. Many like to envision an alien creature that wants its eggs inside you. It can be a little intimidating or off-putting to those who do not fantasize about being the willing or unwilling host of alien beings inside them. It blurs the line of our own humanity to find sexual pleasure with something that is so far from human, and for some, just talking about it gets them wet”.

McCasker also wanted to know if there is any danger of inserting gelatin eggs into the vagina and anus and replied:

“Everything in moderation. We are not doctors, and we’re not about to comment on what is safe or unsafe to do to one’s body as it varies from person to person. I can say that I have used them many times without hurting myself, but frankly it is up to the person using it to know their own limits. For instance, if you are allergic to gelatin. If made properly, the eggs are firm, but rubbery, similar to the consistency of gummy bears. They dissolve with body heat rather quickly”.

I’m sure that such an explanation would not encourage many individuals to try out such a sex toy (and you may want to read my previous blog on rectal foreign bodies before making any such decision). Following the publication of McCasker’s article, dozens of other online news outlets picked up on the story (such as that in Uproxx, Nuvo, Philly Mag and Bust) and in some cases made the national UK tabloid news (such as a story in the Daily Star). What is not made clear is that individuals wanting to use the Ovipostor have to make the gelatin eggs themselves (but at least there’s a YouTube video to show you how). There are also a number of different types of Ovipostor including the Splorch and the Krubera. (I ought to just mention that although PH appears to be the only company that makes egg-producing dildos, other alien-inspired dildos are on the market (and overviewed in an article by Ben Hayward on the Unilad website).

It’s hard to know whether using such niche sex toys is a genuine fetish but PH are making money from selling such products so it would appear that some people out there are at least experimenting with alien imagery and alien-like artefacts as part of their sex lives.

Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor of Behavioural Addiction, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

Further reading

Baumgartner, S. (2015). This fun sex toy lets you lay eggs. Wait what? Located at: http://bust.com/sex/14643-why-does-this-dildo-have-everyone-buzzing.html

Black Panther (2015). Alien impregnation (has any opinions changed?)[sic]. Preggophilia, March 21. Located at: http://preggophilia.com/alien-impregnation-has-any-opinions-changed-t

Butler, B. (2015). Newest sexual fetish: Getting alien eggs laid inside you. Philly Mag, August 17. Located at: http://www.phillymag.com/g-philly/2015/08/17/newest-sexual-fetish-getting-alien-eggs-laid-inside-you/

Daily Star (2015). Weirdest sex toy ever? Fake alien penis designed to lay eggs in people, December 9. Located at: http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/480485/alien-dildo-ovipositor-Primal-Hardwere-Lone-Wolf

Hayward, B. (2015). These alien fetish dildos will blow your mind. Unilad, December 30. Located at: http://www.unilad.co.uk/nsfw/these-alien-fetish-dildos-will-blow-your-mind/

McCasker, T. (2015). The emerging fetish of laying alien eggs inside yourself. Vice, August 13. Located: http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/the-emerging-fetish-of-laying-alien-eggs-inside-yourself

Murrell, S. (2015). So, this is a thing: Alien egg impregnation dildos. Nuvo, October 19. Located at: http://www.nuvo.net/AsktheSexDoc/archives/2015/10/19/so-this-is-a-thing-alien-egg-impregnation-dildos

Ritzen, S. (2015). Feast your eyes on this new alien egg-laying dildo fetish. Uproxx, August 13. Located at: http://uproxx.com/webculture/alien-egg-laying-dildo-fetish/

Watson, Z. (2016). Jeff Goldblum, splorching, and the alien intercourse fetish. Inverse, June 30. Located at: https://www.inverse.com/article/17671-jeff-goldblum-sexy-alien-invasion-fetish-splorch

Totally bananas for an apple source: A brief look at fruit fetishism

In a previous blog I briefly examined sitophilia, a sexual paraphilia in which the individual has an erotic attraction to (and derives sexual arousal from) food. In that blog I noted that there has long been an association between eating and sexual behaviour on many different levels. More specifically, I noted:

“Eating and sex are both basic human needs and sometimes interact more directly. Many would also agree that eating (in and of itself) can be a sensual activity. There are also some foods that are considered to be aphrodisiacs. For example, foodstuffs such as oysters and chocolate are considered to have aphrodisiac properties (even if there is a lack of empirical evidence). The important factor is that if people believe the food in question has such arousing properties then there is likely to be some kind of a placebo effect”.

One (arguable) sub-type of sitophilia relates to those individuals that have fruit fetishes and/or specifically use fruit as part of their day-to-day sexual activity. Fruit fetishism also has overlapping behavioural and psychological characteristics with other fetishes that I have written about previously including ‘wet and messy’ fetishism and Nyotaimori (i.e., eating a variety of foods or a whole meal off somebody’s naked body). Almost every article about fruit fetishes on the Internet mentions the fact that some types of fruit (most noticeably bananas) can be used as a dildo substitute for both men and women (and used both anally and vaginally). For instance, the Wikipedia entry on ‘food play’ notes:

“Certain fruits (e.g., bananas), vegetables (e.g., cucumbers and zucchinis) and processed meat (e.g., sausages and hot dogs), if used safely, may be fetish objects because they have a phallic shape, and can be substitutes for dildos, useful for vaginal or anal penetration. Other foods are so constituted that they can be sexually penetrated by a male…Francesco Morackini, an Austrian designer and artist, designed and created the first home Dildo Maker. It allows phallic food to be sculpted into an even more phallic shape for easier insertion…Other fruits are so constituted that they can be sexually penetrated by a male, if an appropriate hole is drilled in them. In the novel Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth, the main character, Alexander Portnoy, masturbates using a cored-out apple”.

There are numerous references to sexual experiences involving fruit in popular culture. The most infamous is the scene in 9½ Weeks where John Gray (played by Mickey Rourke) feeds food erotically to his blindfolded lover Elizabeth McGraw (played by Kim Basinger) during foreplay. Sex with fruit is discussed in the 1991 Jim Jarmusch film Night On Earth. In the scene set in Rome, the taxicab driver Gino (played by Roberto Benigni) confesses to his passenger who happens to be a priest (played by Paolo Bonacelli) of having had sex with a pumpkin as a child (and before you all email me at once, pumpkins are fruits not vegetables). In the film, Gino confesses:

“I lived in the country, where there weren’t many women, and though you’re still a kid, inside you feel a man’s feeling, and there was no way to relieve this feeling. So the idea, not mine but a real intelligent friend of mine’s, of relieving ourselves with, to make love with…how do I say this? With pumpkins. Pumpkins. Warm, soft, damp, with seeds inside, so round – and we would – toom ta toom – help me find the words, Father – we relieved ourselves with these pumpkins”.

As you can probably guess, there is almost nothing in the academic literature on fruit fetishism. In a small article on ‘phallic fruit fetish’ in the online Urban Dictionary by Daniel Gonzales, he wrote that:

“[Phallic fruit fetish is a ‘disorder’ popularized by gay Quaker performing artist Peterson Toscano in his play ‘Time In The Homo No Mo Halfway House’ about his time spent as a patient in a Christian residential program to ‘cure’ gay people. Another resident in the program suffered from Phallic Fruit Fetish (or PFF) and had a persistent desire to commit sexual acts with phallic shaped fruits. The problem was alleviated when all phallic shaped fruits were removed from the facility. Rev. Smid ordered all bananas removed from the house upon learning of a patient’s phallic fruit fetish”.

Academically there are well over 100 papers and chapters on the topic of rectal foreign bodies and the list of objects and items that have been removed by doctors is almost as long as the number of papers. Many of these report the removal of fruit stuck in rectums (bananas and apples). Other papers report cucumbers as rectal foreign bodies (but reported as vegetables, but like pumpkins are actually fruits). My previous blog on rectal foreign bodies also provided a long list of items that had been medically removed from the rectum including drink containers (e.g., glass bottles, plastic bottles, peanut butter jars, glass tumblers), sporting items (e.g., baseballs, tennis balls), household and kitchen objects (e.g., candles, light bulbs, broomstick handle, spatulas, mortar pestle), sex toys (e.g., vibrators, dildos), and improvised objects (e.g., a sand-filled bicycle inner tubing, plastic fist and forearm, shoehorn, axe handles, aluminium money tube, whip handles, soldering irons, glass tubes, and frozen pigs tails). In a 2010 review by Dr. Joel Goldberg and Dr. Scott Steele published in Surgical Clinics of North America, the authors noted:

“Smooth objects, such as bottles, fruits and vegetables, dildos, and vibrators, cannot always be grasped, and caution should be taken to ensure that they are not broken inside the patient. In the cases of fruits and vegetables, however, either grasping or breaking apart the object is a well-described technique that aids in the removal of the foreign body”.

Breaking up the fruit appears to be an obvious method for retrieving rectal foreign bodies but a 2014 paper by Dr. Abbas Aras and colleagues in the journal Surgical Techniques Development claimed they had a new method outlined on their paper ‘A new and simple extraction technique for rectal foreign bodies: removing by cutting into small pieces’. They wrote about the case of a radish being stuck inside the rectum of a 53-year old male. They reported:

“The purposes of insertion and types of foreign bodies in rectum show great variation. Rectal foreign bodies need to be removed without giving damage to intestinal wall and this should be done in the easiest possible way. We have reported a new and a simple technique. It is easy to apply and safe. A patient was admitted to our clinic with a rectal foreign body (radish) which was successfully removed by cutting it into small pieces. We conclude that different kinds of rectal foreign bodies, especially fruit and vegetables, can be removed by this technique”.

Fruit fetishism and/or engaging in sexual practices with fruit are probably more widespread than might be initially imagined and there appears to be few problems from a psychological perspective. However, as the medical literature has frequently reported, help is sought when fruit is used in sexual practices (most commonly masturbation) and gets stuck inside a person’s rectal passage.

Dr. Mark Griffiths, Professor of Behavioural Addiction, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

Further reading

Aras, A., Karabulut, M., Kones, O., Temizgonul, K. B., & Alis, H. (2014). A new and simple extraction technique for rectal foreign bodies: removing by cutting into small pieces. Surgical Techniques Development, 4(1), 6-7.

Barone, J. E., Sohn, N., & Nealon Jr, T. F. (1976). Perforations and foreign bodies of the rectum: report of 28 cases. Annals of Surgery, 184(5), 601-604.

Goldberg, J. E., & Steele, S. R. (2010). Rectal foreign bodies. Surgical Clinics of North America, 90(1), 173-184.

Memon, J. M., Memon, N. A., Solangi, R. A., & Khatri, M. K. (2004). Rectal foreign bodies. Gomal Journal of Medical Sciences, 6(1), 1-3.

Wikipedia (2015). Food play. Located at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_play

The piles high club: A very brief look at haemorrhoid fetishes

If there’s any subject likely to cause embarrassment (if you have them) and/or laughter (if you haven’t) it’s haemorrhoids (i.e., ‘piles’). I’m sure most of you reading this know what haemorrhoids are, but if you don’t, then Wikipedia’s anatomical description might be helpful (although the website’s photographs made me a little queasy):

“Hemorrhoids (US English) or haemorrhoids (UK)…are vascular structures in the anal canal which help with stool control. They become pathological or piles when swollen or inflamed. In their physiological state, they act as a cushion composed of arterio-venous channels and connective tissue”.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is what other human beings find sexually attractive (as evidenced by many of my previous blogs such as those who are sexually attracted to ugly people (teratophilia), amputees (acrotomophilia), and those with physical deformities (abasiophilia). The only reason I am writing this blog was because I came across this online snippet:

“If you find a guy who’s not disgusted, sure you can. I had a mate with a hemorrhoid fetish once. He used to brag about how he loved popping them out”.

I have to admit that I was more than a little suspect about whether anybody could be genuinely turned on and sexually aroused by somebody else’s haemorrhoids but I decided to look into it. One thing that convinced me there is a niche market for almost anything, is the number of hard core pornography videos that cater for those with a sexual interest in haemorrhoids (or at the very least a penchant for watching those with haemorrhoids having sex – such as the Heavy-R and Muchosucko websites – please be warned that these are very sexually explicit and may upset some people). These videos are clearly made by those who believe they can make money from people who want to watch this type of thing. However, it could always be the case that watching people with haemorrhoids having sex are not watching for sexual purposes but are viewing out of horrified curiosity.

In a previous blog that I wrote on retained rectal foreign bodies, I came across a 2003 paper by Dr. Wen-Chieh Huang and colleagues published in the Journal of the Chinese Medical Association. Their paper examined ten cases of males (average age of 57 years) who had reported to Taipei Veterans General Hospital because they had got an object stuck inside their rectal passage. The reason I mention this paper is because two of the ten men (one aged 50 years in a case from 1999, and the other aged 76 years from a case in 1991) had got sexual vibrators stuck inside their rectal passage after using them to “smooth” their haemorrhoids. It is unclear as to whether the smoothing of the haemorrhoids caused sexual stimulation but the fact that it was a sexual vibrator at least suggests the practice was more than just therapeutic.

It won’t surprise anyone that there is absolutely nothing written about haemorrhoid fetishes either academically or clinically. However, the online Urban Dictionary has an article on ‘Jarmel Berries’ (which I have to admit that I had never heard of) but relates to the sexualization of haemorrhoids. The article noted:

“Created in Colorado in 2005, this deviant sexual practice consists of an oral fetish with hemorrhoids. This act involves one male licking and ‘oral pleasuring’ the hemorrhoids of the other male participant that were created from rough homosexual sodomy. The Jarmel Berries refer to the ‘mouth-watering’ attraction the deviants feel towards a disturbing twist to ‘salad tossing’. This practice has gained popularity through the homosexual prison population across the mid-west, and has traveled as far east as Virginia…This practice has been mentioned in several rap songs, referring to the tough life of prisoners in multiple federal and state detention centers where the Jarmel Berries act has been reported by officials to have grown into an act of hate and domination. It has been reported that the larger or stronger prisoners in the penitentiary facilities have used this act to show their dominance or ‘ownership of other prisoners…The Jarmel Berries term has also caught on with the Lesbian/Gay communities along the west coast in areas like San Diego, San Francisco, and Portland…Another popular variation of this term includes “Jarmel Jelly” (referring to bleeding of the hemorrhoids)”.

The Urban Dictionary also has a separate entry for ‘Jarmel Jelly’ and defined it as “any liquid substance that would seep out of an engorged or enflamed haemorrhoid”.

Personally, of all the different fetishes I have written about in my blog, I am less convinced by the existence of this sexual fetish than any other. I didn’t come across a single first-hand anecdotal account online although I can’t deny that ‘haemorrhoid porn’ exists. If you know any different, then let me know via my personal email address: mark.griffiths@ntu.ac.uk)

Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

Further reading

Huang, W-C., Jiang, J-K., Wang, H-S., Yang, S-H., Chen, W-S., Lin, T-C., & Lin, J-K. (2003). Retained rectal foreign bodies. Journal of the Chinese Medical Association, 66, 606-611.

Urban Dictionary (2013). Jarmel Berries. Located at: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Jarmel%20Berries&defid=1700690

Wikipedia (2013). Hemorrhoid. Located at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemorrhoid

Everything’s swell: A brief look at scrotal infusion

One of the more unusual male sexual acts that I have come across while researching my blogs is scrotal infusion (and if you have a minute you could check out my articles on urethral stimulation and rectal foreign bodies). This is a sexual practice in which fluid (usually saline solution) is injected into the scrotal sac as a way of making it balloon in size (which is why the practice is sometimes referred to as ‘ballooning’ but not to be confused with balloon fetishism). A very similar practice is scrotal inflation in which air (or other gases) are injected into the scrotal sac. Both scrotal infusion and inflation are potentially dangerous, and individuals engaging in such acts are at risk of scrotal cellulitis, subcutaneous emphysema, Fournier’s gangrene (a type of necrotizing infection or gangrene usually affecting the perineum), and/or air embolism. The latter two complications can be potentially fatal particularly among those with HIV. Local nerve damage can also be caused by improper placement of the injecting needle. If there are no complications, the saline injected into the scrotal sac eventually absorbs into the body over a three-day period. Those who inject too much saline into the scrotum discover that the liquid disperses into the abdomen via a small connecting opening.

To date, there have only been a few case studies published in the medical literature. In 2003, Dr. Jeffrey Summers (East Tennessee State University, US), published a case study in the Southern Medical Journal. Summers reported that a 37-year old man turned up for medical attention with a very swollen and painful scrotum.

“[The man] reported that he had always had the impression that his genitalia were smaller than desired, and as a result he had searched the Internet for a solution. He found a web site that supplied him with a “scrotal inflation kit”…Unfortunately, the patient still had enlargement of the scrotum 4 days after the infusion, and it was quite painful…He was initially pleased with the results, but then he developed erythema and pain during the next 2 days…The swelling of the scrotum completely consumed his penis. At 2-week follow-up [following treatment], the patient’s erythema had nearly resolved, and his scrotum was reduced to approximately 20% of its size at presentation”.

In his discussion of the case, Summers noted that “the term scrotal inflation seems to be common in the lay literature” but they could only locate two previous studies relating to gaseous inflation of the scrotum (one paper from 1969 published in the Henry Ford Hospital Medical Journal, and one in 1980 published in American Surgery). The issue most stressed by Summers was that “remarkably, the equipment required for scrotal inflation can be obtained over the Internet without a prescription”. The most recent case was reported by Dr. K.G. Yoganathan and Dr. A.L. Blackwell in a 2006 issue of the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections. They reported that a 52-year old man (white, gay, and HIV positive) turned up at their hospital wanting medical attention for a painful scrotum:

“He had obtained information and a disposable scrotal infusion toolkit from a websiteand had infused 2 litres of normal saline into his scrotum over 2 hours, 3 days previously. He had done this many times before without complications and the swelling had previously resolved over 2 days. On this occasion he sought medical advice because the pain and swelling had lasted for more than 3 days…Examination revealed a grossly swollen, erythematous, tender scrotum suggestive of severe cellulitis…A Prince Albert ring and scars from previous infusions were also noted…Despite the severity of his illness, the patient declined to stop this practice and he was therefore advised on how to reduce the risk of complications”.

The authors recommended that patients should be educated about the dangers of inflation procedures of scrotum and strongly discouraged from doing it. They also said that clinicians should be aware of unusual sex practices and associated possible rare causes of scrotal cellulitis (such as scrotal infusion and inflation). Dr. Brenda Love in both her Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, and a 2005 book chapter (in Russ Kick’s book Everything You Know About Sex is Wrong) notes that:

“The visual effect of the scrotal infusion resembles a water balloon. Men do not report any pain from this procedure and claim that one advantage is found the next morning when the solution filters into the penis, causing it to swell to the size of a beer can. Men claim exclusive license to this type of sex play. There is no sealed part of the female anatomy that has a hollow sac that lends itself to expansion”

Brenda Love points out that there is much preparation and associated paraphernalia needed to engage in acts of scrotal infusion. Love’s equipment list includes: scissors, first-aid tape, a 20-gauge angiocath/hypodermic needle, a one-litre plastic bag of saline solution, an intravenous pole/hook on the ceiling, plastic tubing, latex gloves, and packaged alcohol prep pads. She appears to provide a first-hand account of an actual scrotal infusion that she either watched or had described in depth to her:

“The saline solution was warmed to body temperature ahead of time. The bag was then held against the inside wrist to determine a comfortable temperature. Incidentally, the temperature is not for the comfort of the patient but rather to prevent the scrotal sac from shrinking, as it normally does when exposed to cold water or ice. This shrinking would hamper the expansion process that is essential for infusion. The bag was hung from a hook and spiked with the tubing, which was then pinched closed, not contaminating either of the ends. The scrotal area was swabbed with the alcohol prep pad, and the needle was inserted about one inch directly below the base of the penis in the middle of the scrotum. The partner waited for a moment to make certain that he had not pierced a vein (evident by blood backing up into the needle); the needle was then taped flat and upright against the top of the scrotum. The tubing was opened and adjusted so that it drained at a rate of about 60-90 cc per minute. The male stood because gravity helps to facilitate the expansion. However, fainting is a natural response, and the person was monitored closely and had a bed or table behind him on which to lie if necessary”.

Most people (including myself) may be puzzled as to why someone would want to engage in the activity of scrotal infusion in the first place. Brenda Love claims in her book chapter that those males who participate in this form of body modification explain that they experiment with such dangerous behaviour to (i) experience different feelings, (ii) to be unique, (iii) for the shock value, (iv) to prove that these are their genitals and they will do with them as they please, and to (v) visually set their genitals apart from all others.

Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

Further reading

Bush, G. & Nixon, R. (1969). Scrotal inflation: a new cause for subcutaneous, mediastinal and retroperitoneal emphysema. Henry Ford Hospital Medical Journal, 17, 225–226.

Love, B. (2001). Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices. London: Greenwich Editions.

Love, B. (2005). Cat-fighting, eye-licking, head-sitting and statue-screwing. In R. Kick (Ed.), Everything You Know About Sex is Wrong (pp.122-129).  New York: The Disinformation Company.

Summers, J. (2003). A complication of an unusual sexual practice. Southern Medical Journal, 96, 716–717.

Wikipedia (2012). Scrotal inflation. Located at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrotal_inflation

Yoganathan, K. G.; Blackwell, A. L. (2006). Unusual cause of acute scrotal cellulitis in an HIV positive man. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 82, 187-188.

Bottoms up! An overview of rectal foreign bodies

In a previous blog I looked at the practice of urethral manipulation where men insert objects into their urethra for sexual stimulation. Another similar sexual practice is the insertion of ‘foreign bodies’ into the rectal passage. Most of what is known academically and clinically is from people (almost always male) who turn up to hospital emergency department requiring treatment (i.e., removal of the foreign object that has become trapped inside their rectum). A 2010 review by Dr. Joel Goldberg and Dr. Scott Steele in the Surgical Clinics of North America noted that “retained rectal foreign bodies have been reported in patients of all ages, genders, and ethnicities, more than two-thirds of patients with rectal bodies are men in their 30s and 40s”.

There are dozens and dozens of papers on the topic of rectal foreign bodies and the list of objects and items that have been removed by doctors is almost as long as the number of papers and includes (but not restricted to): vegetables (e.g., potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, turnips, onions), fruit (e.g., bananas, apples), other foodstuffs (e.g., salami, hard boiled eggs), food and drink containers (e.g., glass bottles, plastic bottles, peanut butter jars, glass tumblers), sporting items (e.g., baseballs, tennis balls), household and kitchen objects (e.g., candles, light bulbs, broomstick handle, spatulas, mortar pestle), sex toys (e.g., vibrators, dildos), and improvised objects (e.g., a sand-filled bicycle inner tubing, plastic fist and forearm, shoehorn, axe handles, aluminium money tube, whip handles, soldering irons, glass tubes, frozen pigs tail). Some of these can become very dangerous (e.g., light bulbs that break with broken glass bits causing perforation of the rectum and/or colon), and in one case reported in the American Journal of Surgery led to peritonitis. Despite the many published case studies, there are no estimates of the incidence of rectal foreign body insertion among the population as almost all that is known is only based on the people that end up seeking medical intervention.

Many of the people seeking treatment are gay men although some of the literature features females who have been rectally assaulted. Object removal by the medical team can sometimes be difficult. For instance, one case in the American Journal of Proctology described an instance where a light bulb was lodged in the rectal cavity and the medical team had to improvise to remove the foreign body. They had to attach a light bulb socket to the end of a stick, insert the ‘homemade’ devise into the patient’s rectum, screw the socket onto the lodged light bulb, and then pull it out the same way as it went in. In the same paper, the authors described how they removed a glass tumbler from one man. Here, they managed to pour molten plaster into the tumbler along with some rope placed into the molten plaster. When the plaster has set and stuck to the inside of the glass, they pulled the tumbler out using the rope that had set in the hardened plaster.

There are also cases in the literature where the foreign body has remained inside the rectal cavity for long periods. For instance, one case published in the Medical Journal of Australia reported that a man had a vibrator removed after six months of it being inside him. The published papers also report the many alleged non-sexual reasons as to how such objects came to be lodged in the rectum. Common ones include accidentally falling on the specified object or item after showers or baths, and deliberate insertion of the object or item to dislodge constipated fecal mass. Some stories are a little more elaborate such as one published in the Southern Medical Journal where the man who said he had slipped on a glass jar while washing his dog in the shower. In the same paper, another man who was found to have a vibrator stuck in his rectum claimed to have been abducted and sexually assaulted by a group of men rather than admit that the incident was self-inflicted.

One of the most bizarre cases was reported in a 2004 issue of the journal Surgery. Here the authors described what they believed was the very first case of something living lodged in the rectal passage. After reporting abdominal pain, and being diagnosed with peritonitis, an X-ray revealed that the 50-year-old man had a 50cm long eel stuck inside his abdomen (claiming he had inserted it to relieve his constipation. The authors even provided all the photographic evidence in their paper. It is also worth mentioning at this point that a paper on anorectal trauma in a 1989 issue of the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology by Dr. W.G. Eckert and Dr. S. Katchis. They commented on what has now come to be called felching (and which I covered in a previous blog). More specifically they said: “A sexual practice has been mentioned recently where living rodents, including gerbils and mice, have been inserted into the rectum; the animal’s futile efforts to claw its way to safety result in mucosal tears in the rectum”. However, as I noted in my previous blog, no actual cases have ever been reported in the medical literature.

In a previous blog I wrote on klismaphilia (a sexual paraphilia in which individuals derive sexual arousal and pleasure from the receiving of enemas), I reported a case by Dr Peter Stephens and Dr Mark Taff in the American Journal of American Pathology. They wrote about a young man who turned up at the hospital complaining of rectal pain. After an examination by the doctor, it became apparent that there was a stony hard mass lodged in the man’s rectum. Upon further questioning, the patient revealed that four hours earlier, he and his boyfriend had been “fooling around” and that after stirring a batch of concrete mix, the patient had laid on his back with his feet against the wall at a 45 degree angle while his boyfriend poured the mixture through a funnel into his rectum. The concrete had set and had to be removed by the medical team. On removal, a ping-pong ball was also found. The reason a ping-pong ball was also found in the rectum was because klismaphiliacs use the ball as a plug to promote retention and increase stimulation. The use of such a device suggests the person was an experienced klismaphiliac. As Dr Anil Hernandas and colleagues conclude “as the exploration of anal eroticism increases in popularity, more and more cases of complications as a direct result of their abuse are likely to be encountered”.

Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

Further reading

Benjamin, H.B., Klamecki, B. & Haft, J.S. (1969). Removal of exotic foreign objects from the abdominal orifices. American Journal of Proctology, 20, 413-417.

Buzzard, A.J. & Waxman, B.P. (1979). A long standing, much travelled rectal foreign body. Medical Journal of Australia, 1, 600.

Byard, R.W., Eitzen, D.A. & James, R. (2000). Unusual fatal mechanisms in nonasphyxial autoerotic death. American Journal of Forensic and Medical Pathology, 21, 65-68.

Eckert, W.G, & Katchis, S. (1989). Anorectal trauma: Medicolegal and forensic aspects. American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, 10, 3-9.

Goldberg, J.E. & Steele, S.R. (2010). Rectal foreign bodies. Surgical Clinics of North America, 90, 173–184.

Graves, R.W. & Allison, E.J, Bass, R.R., et al. (1983). Anal eroticism: Two unusual rectal foreign bodies and their removal. Southern Medical Journal, 76, 677-678.

Hemandas, A.H., Muller, G.W. & Ahmed, I. (2005). Rectal Impaction With Epoxy Resin: A Case Report. Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, 9, 747–749

Lo, S.F., Wong, S.H. & Leung, L.S., et al. (2004). Traumatic rectal perforation by an eel. Surgery, 135, 110-111.

Memon, J.M., Memon, N.A., Solangi, R.A., & Khatri, M.K. (2008). Rectal foreign bodies. Gomal Journal of Medical Sciences, 6(1), 1-3.

Schaupp, W.C. (1981). Commentary. American Journal of Surgery, 142, 85-88.

Stephens, P. & Taff, M. (1987). Rectal impaction following enema with a concrete mix. American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, 8, 179–182.